Where to watch stage 9 of TDF from?
Discussion
Having seen what a great time everyone had at the TDF in the UK I fancy heading across the border to see some myself. However, I have a 13 month old so don't want to go anywhere too packed.
The closer to the end the better, no more than 20 mins drive from Mulhouse really , I think the climbs are too far away so am thinking a few km from the end just outside the town is probably the best bet.
http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-9.html
We went to the TT at Mont St Michel last year but the small person was only 7 weeks old so it was a bit easier than having a toddler with a penchant for running around and climbing on stuff...
The closer to the end the better, no more than 20 mins drive from Mulhouse really , I think the climbs are too far away so am thinking a few km from the end just outside the town is probably the best bet.
http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/us/stage-9.html
We went to the TT at Mont St Michel last year but the small person was only 7 weeks old so it was a bit easier than having a toddler with a penchant for running around and climbing on stuff...
After looking at the route plan for the stage we decided to go and watch from the Côte de Gueberschwihr, a 2nd cat climb which was conveniently located not far from the motorway. We were planning to go to Mulhouse but had decided it would be too late to get back home with the small person before bed time.
The weather held out for us, so it was sunny pretty much the whole time we were there, with the exception of a 2 minute shower just before the riders came through, we parked just outside the village and walked for 5 minutes to a nice spot next to a vineyard where we could see the riders (and team cars) jostling for position as the road narrowed just ahead.
What nobody warned us though, was that when the caravan comes through you need to be paying full attention, and possibly wearing body armour, as the vehicles come tearing through the village with people on the back basically shelling the spectators with branded tat and other freebies. I think we ended up with about a dozen hats, several bendy straws, some grapefruit squash, some sausages, madeleines, two Frisbees, various keyrings and a small packet of laundry detergent.
We had a great time though, the beer was very reasonably priced (€2.50 for 300ml) and the atmosphere was great, especially at Tony Martin was out front and most spectators were German (very close to the German border). It was very different to the TT we went to last year and over much more quickly but was a good trip out and nice excuse for a picnic, I just wish there was room to take my bike and have a ride up the hill before the peloton came through, but that’ll have to wait for another day. A couple of pics below…
The weather held out for us, so it was sunny pretty much the whole time we were there, with the exception of a 2 minute shower just before the riders came through, we parked just outside the village and walked for 5 minutes to a nice spot next to a vineyard where we could see the riders (and team cars) jostling for position as the road narrowed just ahead.
What nobody warned us though, was that when the caravan comes through you need to be paying full attention, and possibly wearing body armour, as the vehicles come tearing through the village with people on the back basically shelling the spectators with branded tat and other freebies. I think we ended up with about a dozen hats, several bendy straws, some grapefruit squash, some sausages, madeleines, two Frisbees, various keyrings and a small packet of laundry detergent.
We had a great time though, the beer was very reasonably priced (€2.50 for 300ml) and the atmosphere was great, especially at Tony Martin was out front and most spectators were German (very close to the German border). It was very different to the TT we went to last year and over much more quickly but was a good trip out and nice excuse for a picnic, I just wish there was room to take my bike and have a ride up the hill before the peloton came through, but that’ll have to wait for another day. A couple of pics below…
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